E. Coli Sickens Many After Picnic In Germantown

Nearly 40 people have been sickened and with E.Coli in the Miami Valley following a picnic for an area business. Emily McCord reports that as of Tuesday afternoon, 9 have been hospitalized.

The illnesses were reported in Germantown following a customer appreciation picnic on July 3rd. There were 200 to 300 hundred people at the event and health officials with Montgomery County say that more people may become ill from the contaminated food. Spokesman Bill Wharton says this outbreak like this one is a large but not necessarily uncommon.

"It's because a lot of times people don't take care of the food temperature controls. They kind of abuse the food and the handling or they have a picnic and leave it all day long. any organism that's in there will continue to grow if it's not in the right temperatures," says Wharton.

Wharton says they will continue to investigate the source of the outbreak. In the meantime, anyone who suspects they have e.coli should see a doctor. Wharton also recommends frequent hand washing to avoid the illness from spreading further.